Not Only Defamation, The Former Governor Of NTB Claims To Be The Defendant Junaidin Accused Him Of Cheating

Former NTB Governor Zulkieflimansyah walked out of the courtroom after giving testimony at the inaugural hearing of the ITE / DOK ANTARA case

The Mataram District Court held a trial in the case of alleged insult and defamation of the former Governor of West Nusa Tenggara Zulkieflimansyah through social media Facebook with the defendant Junaidin alias Joni Junaedi. In the trial with the agenda of reading the indictment, which was followed by the examination of witnesses, was present by former NTB Governor Dr. Zulkieflimansyah as the first witness before the panel of judges led by Isrin Surya Kurniasih. Zulkieflimansyah when giving testimony under the oath stated that he knew the defendant when he was still active as a regional head for the 2018 —2023 period. "I know this defendant as a local journalist who often oversees our policies when he was still in government," Zulkieflimansyah said as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, April 24. Bang Zul, the nickname of the former NTB Governor, conveyed this in response to the panel of judges' questions. Bang Zul also admitted to the panel of judges that he knew that his Facebook account called "Pimred Pusarantb" which uploaded sentences with insults and defamation belonging to the defendant. "It's no longer an open secret, everyone knows that the account (Pimred Pusanantb) belongs to the person concerned (the defendant)," he said. In fact, said Bang Zul, the defendant once conveyed a message via WhatsApp social media related to allegations of infidelity with the defendant's wife. "Lastly, he conveyed this (alleged affair) and I was surprised, from there he started to stop communicating," he said. Regarding the alleged affair with the defendant's wife, who is now a former woman, Bang Zul dismissed this. "Never mind having an affair, just know it or not. Never communicate via telephone, let alone meet in person," said Bang Zul. Despite having denied and dismissed the defendant's accusations, the "Pimred Pusarantb" account periodically uploads sentences with insults and defamation for Dr. Zulkieflimansyah and also his younger brother, Dewi Noviany, who is currently still serving as Deputy Regent of Sumbawa. "Actually, if the person concerned came and apologized, we will forgive. There is no need to expand. However, this never apologizes," he said. Based on Bang Zul's testimony before the panel of judges, the defendant had the opportunity to convey questions to the witness. In short, the defendant only asked about Zulkieflimansyah's introduction to the defendant's wife, Dewi Anggraeni. "Do you know Dewi Anggraeni?" asked the defendant who was then answered briefly by the witness by stating that he did not know. "I don't know. I don't even have a contact (phone number) in question," said Bang Zul. After conveying this, the judge ended Bang Zul's testimony at trial and continued to examine other witnesses who witnessed the upload of the "Pimred Pusarantb" account.

In this case, the public prosecutor charged Joni Junaedi with Article 27 paragraph (3) in conjunction with Article 45 paragraph (3) of Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) jo. Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor applied the indictment by conveying that the defendant Joni Junaedi had uploaded a post containing the meaning of insults, spreading hoaxes, slander and defamation continuously against former NTB Governor Zulkieflimansyah through a Facebook account called "Pimred Pusarantb".